US Troops Are on the Ground in Yemen for al-Qaeda Offensive

A day after the US was reported to have participated in an anti al-Qaeda offensive in southern Shabwa Province of Yemen, the Pentagon is confirming that a “small number” of US ground troops have been deployed into Yemen for an ongoing operation against the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) force.

Details are still scant, but the operation is said to be taking place across central Yemen in a major al-Qaeda stronghold. The Pentagon said the main purposes of their presence is “intelligence sharing,” at least for now.

That’s because the Pentagon said they are not ruling out sending even more troops into Yemen in the coming weeks, as they appear to intend to continue escalating the fight against AQAP, in an offensive which apparently is being coordinated with the United Arab Emirates.

US Elite Military Taking Mercenary Jobs In Abu Dhabi (UAE) by Oui @BooMan on Dec. 23, 2012  

US ground troops in ‘major’ offensive against al-Qaeda in Yemen | Al Araby |

The Pentagon announcement came after the United Arab Emirates on Thursday said it was launching a “major” operation.

“The operation is being closely supported by a combined UAE and US enabling force,” the UAE embassy said in a statement to AFP.

The US has conducted more than 80 strikes since February 28 in Yemen, Davis said.

Soon after taking office, Trump ordered an airborne raid that ended up with the deaths of a US Navy SEAL and several Yemeni civilians in Baida province, south of Marib.

For more than two years, Yemen has been locked in a devastating civil war between the Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels who control the capital.

Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the conflict to expand its presence in several areas of southern and eastern Yemen under the nominal control of the government and its allies in a Saudi-led military coalition.

Donald Trump authorised air strike that killed eight-year-old American girl ‘without sufficient intelligence’

Continued below the fold …

Donald Trump authorised air strike that killed eight-year-old American girl ‘without sufficient intelligence’ | The Independent |

The US military is investigating whether more civilians were killed in a raid on al-Qaeda in Yemen at the weekend, in the first operation authorised by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.

Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens was killed in the raid on a branch of al-Qaeda, also known as AQAP, in al-Bayda province, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants. However, medics at the scene said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.

US Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had “concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed” during Sunday’s raid. It said that children may have been among the casualties.

…
The military officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said “a brutal firefight” killed Mr Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children. One of the dead was the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a militant killed by a 2011 US drone strike. Nawar al-Awlaki was a US citizen.

An unnamed official said: “Almost everything went wrong.”

○ Trump’s Yemen Policy Serves Saudi Royals Better Than Americans
○ What’s Really at Stake for America in Yemen’s Conflict

H/T shan

○ Imam al Awlaki Killed in Yemen Raid After U.S. Intelligence by Oui @BooMan on Dec. 24, 2009
○ Abdulmutallab joined al Qaeda in London, al-Awlaki Killed
○ Al-Awlaki Clan Members Killed in US Cruise missile attack

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Remember President Obama killed Anwar Al-Awlaki [died Sept. 30, 2011] by a drone attack in Yemen because of his sermons/broadcasts across the Internet and his magazine Inspire. Assassinate one and a dozen are inspired. Using Israel’s Sharon/Netanyahu as proof of this futile exercise.

From my diary …

○ Clinton’s 21st Century Statecraft and the Land of the Two Rivers

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